Tracks for model railways



Oct. 7, 1947. T. PINDER I TRACK FOR MODEL RAILWAYS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 10, 1945 Oct. T. PINDER I I i r 2,428,468

' TRACK -FOR MODEL RA L AYs v Filed Nov. 10, 1943 2 sheets-shed 2 FTqlZ.

Patented Oct. 7, 1947 lTED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRACKS FOR MODE-L RAIHWAYS Thomas Binder, Scarborough, :England Application November 10, 1943, Serial No. 509,793 In Great Britain December 121, 1942 Claims.

the track is curved it is necessary to have the cross zties or sleepers disposed radially with respect .to the curve andin my priorBritish Patent No. 542;521this arrangement is obtained in one particular manner. that all the cross-ties or sleepers are permanently and rigidly connected to one of the rails, not necessarily all'to the same rail, and all of them are connected to the other rail or rails so as to be capable of movement lengthwise thereof, with the possibleexception of one cross-tie or sleeper inaa track length, usually the centre-one, which may be permanently and rigidly connected to bothor allzthe rails so as to serve as an anchorage which prevents relative longitudinal displacement of the rails.

When a track is curved it is obvious that the ends will'not. be in radial line as the outer rail willfoll'ow .a greater curve than the inner rail and it is the main object of the present invention:to.overcome this difliculty.

Accordingly this invention is characterised in that any desired rail of a track section is furnished with: a movable joint (or joints) formed byoverlapping the ends of two lengths of rail intermediate the ends of the section with connecting means for holding the joint and afiording relativemovement between said overlapping ends when the rail is flexed so that it extends or contracts automatically in length.

This construction enables the ends of rails forming a, track section to be connected in fixed transverse relation to each other so as to be in a radial line when the track is curved and all sections will fit together automatically irrespective of their formation.

Moreover the movable joint may comprise a half lapped or tapered, scarf joint with one or more connecting elements for maintaining the joint and affording any relative movement caused by flexing the rails.

According to a feature of the invention a joint includes at least one flexible joint member located against the webs of the rail ends to span any gap on its immediate side formed by flexion of the rails. Such member may provide connecting elements for. maintaining connection at the joint.

Such specification states 2 All the connecting elements may comprise clips which embrace the .bottom flange :or edge ofa rail-andsuch clips may be on the rails andfior' the cross-ties or sleepers and/or an the joint member when employed.

.Reter-ring now to the. accompanying drawing in which embodiments of the invention :are shown by way of example only:

:Figs. 1 and 2 are respectively a side and plan view "of a half la'p joint with a joint member onone face;

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are respectively sections on lines .A, B and C, of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 :is a sectional view of a 'mo'dmed"-form of joint member;

Fig. 7 is a sectional plan showing a modified simple. joint memberxin position;

Fig. Bis a perspective view. oftwo rail endswith a double joint member in position to receive such ends;

'Fig..-9 is aper'spective view of a double joint member with integral flexible cli-pmeans;

Fig. 10 is a perspective View of two railend's adapted'to form a taper'joint;

Fig. 11' is a, plan view of the taper joint;

Fig. '12 is a plan view of a straight two rail' track section;

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a clip for'joining track sections;

Fi-gs; 14 and 15 are respectively a plan view or acrossing orpoints section and a crossover section.

In Figs. 1't05-the'ends I; 2 of the rails 3, '4;

are half'lapped in' a vertical scarf joint andthe" .upper flanges 5, 6, are cut away below their-upper faces on one side for a distance depending upon the total movement required. A joint member '1' offiexible material'is'flttedagainst the webs of therail ends below these cut away parts and 'held" in position by connecting elements comprising clips fl'formed on (or fixed to) the member and adaptedto embrace the lower flanges 9, ID; of

the rail ends. The rail ends may slide freely in both the clipsor the clip on flange S'may-grio it firmly and both rail ends slide in the'clip on flange I0. The joint member 1 is of such a thick-- nessthat'its top outer edge (with respect" to the rail) is in line with the side'faces of'theflanges" 5, 6, so that a vehicle Wheel ll passing over the rail joint will have the tread of the'wheel'sup ported by at least'half the top flan'geof one of" therails, While the wheel flange will pass from" theside face of a rail flange to the joint'mem her 1 and then to the other rail flange. joint member: is arranged on the inside of the rail,

' or more rail type.

although two could be arranged in combination on the inside and outside of the joint as this tends to maintain a more homogeneous curvewhen flexed. Moreover, any desired number of clips 8 may be provided and some, or all, of them may be separate from the member 1, e. g., they may be formed on, or carried by, the rails and/or the usual cross-ties or sleepers or be separate clips.

If desired the joint member maybe flanged at 1a as shown in Fig. 6 so long as the member is sufiiciently flexible. Alternatively, a plain flexible strip may be packed out by a piece lb as shown in Fig. 7 or such piece could be omitted if the member was made of spring steel (or its equivalent) and sprung out. 7

In the modified construction shown in Fig. 8,

the joint member I2 is of double formation to 7 lie on both sides of the rail joint and its two parts are joined by a centre clip 8a with clips 8 on the ends of the parts. This construction facilitates the holding of the joint whilst allowing the desired freedom of movement and is simply a combination of two of the aforesaid single joint members I. Where it is desired to provide a long clip or connecting element for a greater extension or contraction of rails, e. g., where the total movement of the rail necessitates an endwise floating attachment to sleepers to maintain the track gauge, then the construction shown in Fig. 9 may be adopted. The two parts of the member 12 are joined by a long clip 8b which is cut into small sections so that the whole clip is flexible and yet can slide in a clip or equivalent part on a sleeper.

- In the alternative construction shown in Figs. and 11, the movable rail joint is formed by a tapered joint, i. e., the ends I, 2 are tapered to a more or less knife edge and furnished with clips 8 at their toes to maintain the joint and afford the required relative sliding movement. One of the clips 8 may be'attached after the joint is made and the third clip 80 can be formed on or attached to a sleeper l3 to keep the gauge.

of the track. The length of taper of the rail ends is-arranged to suit the maximum movement required, the maximum widening of gauge that can be permitted just before the toe of each taper and to permit of keeping the toes of each joint from being oppositeeach other in anyposition.

Any number of the above movable joints may beincluded in a track section whether of the two-rail type shown in Fig.12 or a three or four With the two-rail track one rail could be fixed to the sleepers and the other rails 3, 4, mounted slidably in relation to the sleepers and furnished with, say, one joint which would allow extension or contraction of the total length of said rails depending upon which, way the track is curved laterally. .The ends of'sections can be joined up in any known manner by con necting the rails and/or sleepers or other parts, and in the drawing each end sleeper 311, to which the rail ends at the extremities of the section are fixed to retain them in fixed transverse relation to each-other, is furnished with a clip fastener I4 V are in any position. Also stops may be provided (Fig. 13) which is pivoted to a sleeper "by a pin 1 I5 so as to drop over contiguous sleepers Na and' hold them together. The pin [5 passes through both of the sleepers and serves to locate the rails in alignment. Furthermore, whilst therails may be simply butt jointed there may. alternatively be a half-lap (or taper) joint at the ends of one or both rails in each section toensure a'more 1 homogeneous curve. Clip means maintain such 4 a joint. If both rails have movable joints and are mounted slidably in relation to the sleepers then the sleepers are tied together by a further rail I 6, which may be the live rail in electrified tracks, about which any curves are made and the movable joints of one set of rails will extend whilst on the other side they will contract. The extra rail need not be between the two engine rails or on the top of the sleepers and may form a half-lap (or taper) joint at section ends instead of, or in addition to, the engine rails. In any of the above joints it is preferred that the half laps or tapers in each section of track be facing the same way in order that the gaps may be staggered. Moreover, the above movable joints may serve to join the ends of rail sections together instead of, orin addition to, being arranged intermediate the ends. The combined clip 12 is eminently suitable for this and could be permanently attached to one rail. The track gauge may be maintained at any of the movable joints by the use of one or more clips on the sleepv anchoring the bar to the track rails by pins, 23, which slide in a curved slot 24; and providing a rotatable operating element 25. V

For crossovers'in twin-track sections a similar of the track, the slots 24 are shown straight (they could be curved) and the element 25 is adapted to pull one bar 2| and push the other to move the required track sections into line. With this'ar-' rangement the joint member l2 shown in Fig- 9 would be eminently suitable to afford the desired movement in the rails of the track sections. providing the crossover. V I

Inorder to retain a properjoint, the distance between clips in which therails slide is arranged so that they are clear of the gaps when therails on the rails to limit movement to the maximum required in either direction. 1 a

In the above constructions the standard rail section has been shown and described but an suitable section of rail can be used.

WhatIclaim is: Y 1. As an article of manufacture, a flexible track section for miniature railways adapted to be connected in end to end relation with other similar track sections to form a complete track, said track section comprising a pair of laterally flexible rails and a plurality of cross ties on whichof said rails in fixed transverse relationship at the ends of said track section and meansatt'ach f ing said cross tie members fixedly to one of said' rails and for sliding movement longitudinally of the other of said rails.

2. As an article of manufacture a flexible mode1 rail track section comprising at least two rail members mounted parallel to each other on cross ties, one of said rails being a unitary member extending from end to end of said section, the other of said rails having a scarf joint intermediate the ends of said section to permit extension or contraction of the length thereof upon lateral flexing of said section as a unit, a flexible connecting element holding the scarf jointed ends of said rail against lateral displacement and slidably engaging at least one of said ends, means for retaining the ends of said rails in fixed transverse relationship at the ends of said track section, and means connecting said cross ties fixedly to one of said rails and for longitudinal slippage relative to the remainder thereof.

3. As an article of manufacture, a laterally flexible model rail track section comprising a pair of wheel bearing rails, a plurality of cross ties on which said rails are mounted, means for attaching said rails to said cross ties in laterally spaced relation While permitting longitudinal floating action with respect to said cross ties, each of said Wheel rails having a joint intermediate the ends of said section to permit automatic extension or contraction of the length thereof upon lateral flexing of said section as a unit, a, third rail consisting of a unitary member extending from end to end of said track section and fixedly connected to each of said cross ties to form a longitudinal spacing member about which the track section can be laterally flexed as a unit and means connecting the ends of said rails at the respective ends of said section in 'fixed transverse relation to each other.

4. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 2 in which the flexible connecting element spans the gap where the rail is left incomplete by expansion of said joint.

5. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 2 in which the flexible connecting element is held in place by clip means embracing the lower parts of the rail.

6. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 2 in which the flexible connecting element spans the scarfed ends of the joint and has oppositely disposed clip members engaging the rail on each side of said joint.

7. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 2 in which said flexible connecting element is held in place by at least one clip member engagin the rail adjacent the joint and at least one clip member engaging the scarfed ends of the rail.

8. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 2 in which said flexible connecting element is held in place by clip elements engaging the rail on each side of the joint and the scarfed ends thereof.

9. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 2 in which said flexible connecting element is a flexible channel embracing the lower portion of the rail.

1 An article of manufacture as defined in claim 2 in which the flexible connecting member is secured to the rail by a plurality of clips atleast one of which is secured to a sleeper.

THOMAS PINDER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,256,094 Bachfield Feb. 12, 1918 78,500 Wharton June 2, 1868 392,441 Lightfoot Nov. 6, 1888 204,006 Condict, Jr, May 21, 1878 1,773,560 Westcott Aug. 19, 1930 316,629 Kerr Apr. 28, 1885 1,838,509 Westcott Dec. 29, 1931 1,949,720 Kelley Mar. 6, 1934 2,186,186 Weinreich Jan. 9, 1940 2,196,257 Dubilier Apr. 9, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 542,521 Great Britain Jan. 30, 1941 1,426 Great Britain Jan. 22, 1901 734,948 France Aug. 13, 1932 769,943 France June 18, 1934 186,414 Great Britain Mar. 24, 1922 227,904

Germany Aug. 22, 1908 

